Cutting the Cost of College

The rising cost of a college education continues to be a significant burden.

In 2021, the Education Data Initiative found that the average yearly cost of books and supplies for full-time undergraduates at a four-year college approximated $1,240.

The ramifications of those numbers? Plenty. Data compiled in recent years by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund indicate some harrowing national findings:

• Effect on studies: 63% of students skipped purchasing a textbook, resulting in 90% of them worrying their grades would be affected.
• Effect on time: 25% of students worked extra hours to pay for books.
• Effect on curriculum: 19% selected classes according to the cost of course materials.
• Effect on health: 11% skipped meals in order to pay for school.

Institutional responses gathered at the University of Illinois indicate similar concerns, with 73% saying their classroom performance was affected in some way because students could not afford the materials.

One creative solution gaining momentum in recent years is Open Educational Resources (OER), a worldwide movement aimed at cutting costs, modernizing educational materials, and helping students succeed. Essentially, these textbooks or myriad other resources use different copyright licensing, take advantage of digitally produced options, and are accessed—for free—online.

At the U. of I., that effort resides with the Illinois Open Publishing Network or IOPN (pronounced “I-Open”). Headed by Dan Tracy, MA ’02 LAS, PHD ’08 LAS, MS ’12 LIS, it is a Library-based digital open publishing initiative that organizes the program on campus, offering advice and services to educators looking to create new materials in transformative ways.

“In our case, we make textbooks,” said Sara Benson, MS 2017 LIS, U. of I. copyright librarian who works with the unit. “And instead of being produced by traditional publishers, where students have to pay quite a hefty sum for their textbooks, we provide some funding to faculty for summer stipends and . . . graduate hourlies and things like that, so they can create these textbooks for free for their students. And they also have an open license on them so they can be reused by other faculty across the world.

“We use what’s called a Creative Commons license,” she said. “All the works that are being created are copyright protected,” but the authors are also granting a license to the general public. Whoever uses the book—student, educator, or curious reader—can do so as long as they adhere to the terms of the license.

A fairly recent endeavor on the Illinois campus, IOPN began publishing textbooks in 2020 on topics as diverse as language learning, epidemiology, social work, and engineering. According to Tracy, OER can provide enhanced digital experiences—such as interactive exercises, videos, and audio content (particularly useful in language learning)—as well as save students money.

And the savings are substantial. Since August 2022, the 2,563 students enrolled in an applied science course on drug use and misuse on campus were able to bypass buying an $89.99 textbook and use an online version; savings to date total $230,644.37. Similarly, 140 students enrolled in a psychology course on behavioral genetics avoided paying $38 each in textbook rental, resulting in a cost-cutting measure topping $5,000.

And with 15 textbooks in the IOPN pipeline—ranging from computer science to community nutrition to ice skating—savings in these courses are expected to reach more than half a million dollars.

“I think there is a lot more consciousness on the part of professors who also are very aware of the rising cost of textbooks and are looking for more ways to make sure that their students can afford their course material,” Tracy said.

“I’ve always thought OER is a better option for everybody who’s wanting to learn the content,” said José Andino Martinez, a senior lecturer in chemistry at Illinois, in a promotional video. “I am deeply interested in the equitability of these resources for any student, and I feel that OER has been designed for that purpose.”

A key person in spreading the word about OER has been Benson, who has worked to boost general awareness, secure funding, and promote the program’s opportunities.

This year her efforts received an individual honorable mention in the Student Success Champion awards program of the Student Success @ Illinois initiative. In addition, Illinois Student Government and other campus entities, including the Office of the Provost, have also voiced support of OER efforts as a means of improving student welfare.

“There’s ways that you can use the digital medium to do a lot of things that you could never do in a print textbook,” Tracy said of the OER movement.

Including, these days, easing the strain on student pocketbooks.
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Help students succeed by giving any dollar amount up to $10,000 to develop OER providing textbooks at no cost to students. Funding supports the Library’s incentive program for Illinois faculty to create these works by offering assistance such as faculty stipends, hourly support, copy editing, and publication through Scholarly Communications & Publishing. Visit go.library.illinois.edu/LILF.